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Xyk
2008-02-28, 10:33 PM
Maybe instead of a spell fizzling because of a badly cast spell, a use of the rod of wonder for one spell. It would still take up the spell slot. That sound balanced?

Chronos
2008-02-28, 11:15 PM
What are you thinking of to cause a spell to fizzle?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-02-29, 12:50 AM
From the sound of it, a failed Concentration Check.

Xyk
2008-02-29, 09:05 AM
Actually, I was thinking arcane spell failure from armor, but concentration works too. Sorry if that was not overly clear.

its_all_ogre
2008-02-29, 09:45 AM
i'd not do that.
if you mis-cast a light spell and get to roll on rod of wonder table i'd be wearing armour all the time and hoping for a miscast!

have not read it for some time, but seems pretty powerful to me!

for an area of wild magic though it'd be fun...
*runs off to change city in one specific area*

Rad
2008-02-29, 10:23 AM
It could work, but you'd have to devise one table per spell level and always roll on that. Rolling on a table of 1-level-lower spells could also work.
You miscast Magic Missile and get maybe a Flare
You miscast Stoneskin and get up to a Fireball

Duke of URL
2008-02-29, 11:01 AM
You miscast Stoneskin and get up to a Fireball

On your target (possibly yourself). Ouch.

Rad
2008-02-29, 11:29 AM
On your target (possibly yourself). Ouch.

That was the point :smallbiggrin:
But you had to be quite unlucky to fail concentration AND pick that instead of, say, Air Shield or Haste or some other 3rd level spell (like... uhm... Dispel Magic :smallbiggrin: )

Burley
2008-02-29, 12:19 PM
I've been in a game where we entered areas like that...but, not JUST like that. All casters got a 30% extra Spell Failure (on top of what they had). It wasn't necisarilly wild magic, just that it was more difficult for the casters to draw the correct energies in the right way.
Say you wanted to cast light and you failed it, you may get Scorching Ray or something that produced a similar effect (lighting the area) but with very, very different effects (burning your hand off).
It was hilarious, because there were fights that they were low on spells, so they'd use up their dinky spells (Inflict minor wounds) hoping to fudge the roll. I dunno if anybody failed in a good way, though.
Super Fun if your players have a sense of humor and like a little more surprise. I, personally, love spells with random effects, like the Prismatics.

Xyk
2008-02-29, 06:08 PM
I think I might just take whoevers idea that was (too lazy to scroll down) and have a wild magic area. Where every spell is misspelled as a random spell 1-level lower. the problem is that in the current campaign there are no arcane casters. Divine should be fun though...teach them to try to heal...:smallamused:

Shhalahr Windrider
2008-02-29, 06:40 PM
It could work, but you'd have to devise one table per spell level and always roll on that. Rolling on a table of 1-level-lower spells could also work.
You miscast Magic Missile and get maybe a Flare
You miscast Stoneskin and get up to a Fireball
If I were to do this, I'd probably keep the new result in the same school as the intended spell's school.

Collin152
2008-02-29, 06:44 PM
If I were to do this, I'd probably keep the new result in the same school as the intended spell's school.

Lest your buff end up being a finger of death.

nargbop
2008-03-01, 11:49 AM
Rod of Wonder effects? Pfft. Run with the situation! Let them rip pages out of enemy spellbooks, and the spellbooks try to run away! A malfunctioning cure critical wounds gives you an extra arm! The mithral plate of speed is always ALWAYS on so that you are a jittering blur that cannot participate in normal society!

In short : make magic alive, cantankerous, and mildly hostile to the party.

Shhalahr Windrider
2008-03-01, 12:04 PM
Lest your buff end up being a finger of death.
Well, I'm thinking more about consistency in verisimilitude. Even if you make a mistake, the end result should be somewhere in the neighborhood of what you were trying for. Especially if you're normally supposed to be good at this sort of thing.

Of course, it still wouldn't prevent the occasional disaster anyway. What happens when your greater heroism becomes feeblemind?

Collin152
2008-03-01, 02:21 PM
Hm.
Course, then you gte things like casting a fire evocation and end up shooting lightning instead.
Doesn't make a ton of sense.

Toliudar
2008-03-01, 02:27 PM
At least that's still energy, and an immediate effect. Consider the possibility of accidentally casting something like phantom steed, which has a ten minute casting time. Or a ton of spells that require a specific kind of target or instructions (hold portal, etc).

Fax Celestis
2008-03-01, 02:30 PM
It could work, but you'd have to devise one table per spell level and always roll on that. Rolling on a table of 1-level-lower spells could also work.
You miscast Magic Missile and get maybe a Flare
You miscast Stoneskin and get up to a Fireball

Or you could just use the scroll table.

Shhalahr Windrider
2008-03-01, 07:07 PM
Or a ton of spells that require a specific kind of target or instructions (hold portal, etc).
Well, that would be no different then actually trying to cast the relevant spell on an invalid target—it just fizzles.

And for instruction-dependent ones—maybe a DC 25+spell level Spellcraft check would let you realize what mistake you made and you'd know to issue instructions.

Though I suppose that raises verisimilitude issues with casters that have limited spells known. "Hey! I know what mistake I made here! I should be able to duplicate it again and actual learn it!"

Chronos
2008-03-02, 12:00 AM
Though I suppose that raises verisimilitude issues with casters that have limited spells known. "Hey! I know what mistake I made here! I should be able to duplicate it again and actual learn it!"I don't see a problem. Once you can cast it reliably, it counts against your Spells Known. Having accidentally cast it and studied your mistake just provides a fluff explanation for how the character learns new spells; it doesn't circumvent the number you can know, or when precisely you learn them (when leveling up).